On Examining Survivorship Differential by Marital Status: An Indian Illustration

This study has explored the relationship between marital status and survival possibility with respect to both sexes using an indirect estimation. Several patterns emerge from the analysis of survival differentials by marital status. Any change in marital status often leads to a loss of socio economic status; particularly in the case of widows though differing across countries or states depending on the socio-cultural condition (e.g. widows in Kerala enjoy the same survival chance as married women, due to a better socio cultural landscape). Results show that marriage contributes to a larger increase in survival chance for both males and females. Changes in the marital status have deleterious implications for women as compared to men, as men always tends to remarry in the event of any change in the marital status. In India the joint survival likelihood depends on several factors like age at marriage, spousal age gap and men’s risky life styles. The studies on age at marriage and sex related differences in mortality rates point out a general age gap of five years between males and females and also male mortality especially adult male mortality is extremely high in India. However, in this study such factors have not been taken into consideration. The derived results strongly affirm that marriage circle expand survival chances.